An ’emotional’ return to Ramara-based leadership camp 70 years on
Alex Saunders stood before a roomful of students seated in a spacious dining hall overlooking Lake Couchiching.
Seventy years ago this month, Saunders was just like them: young, full of promise and wondering what lay ahead.
His time here, at the Ontario Educational Leadership Centre on Rama Road in Longford Mills, would prove pivotal during a life that included 26 years in the military and a stint with the Canadian Football League.
“This is a very emotional trip for me,” the 89-year-old told his audience, all of them dressed in matching blue-and-white uniforms bearing the camp’s emblem, the province’s coat of arms.
Saunders attended the first course at the leadership centre in July 1948 and returned for the 70th anniversary of the nonprofit camp that draws students in grades six through 12 from across the province.
He was there to tell his story and pass along wisdom earned over the intervening decades, which included time with the Royal Canadian Air Force and a season playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders.
“Find the things in life that you give your total commitment to, because it is never ending,” Saunders advised. “What you commit yourself to has a tendency to carry on, from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year — you carry it on.”
Each of the camp’s 16 courses focuses on engaging and educating youth to maximize their potential as leaders, while encouraging them to become participating citizens in their schools, communities and beyond.
Courses are delivered primarily by teachers and range in interest from the arts and athletics to school governance and global issues.
“You create a safe environment for people to take risks, and, personally that’s where growth is going to happen, when people are taking risks,” said Ian DeCoste, centre manager.
Saunders, in his closing remarks, told the students that each of them has goals and aspirations, “the things that are precious to you in your lives.”
Then, he urged them to “look for what’s important, look for what touches your heart and follows those things.”
To learn more about the Ontario Educational Leadership Centre, go to .